Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud now says he was misquoted on the sensitive subject of how many Kenya Defence Forces soldiers died in the attack on the El Adde military camp inside Somalia.
Speaking from Turkey at a forum on Somalia, President Mohamoud dismissed as untrue media reports that he put the death toll at between 180 and 200.
One issue that continues to cause untold anguish to families and friends is the length of time it takes for the bodies to be identified and released for burial.
Several weeks after the El Adde atrocity, many families have yet to bury their relatives, because the bodies (and body parts) have yet to be identified through DNA testing.
It is inhuman to take the families and friends through such pain and uncertainty for so long, just because the government lacks the facilities to conduct DNA testing.
A databank of the DNA profiles of all soldiers sent into Somalia and other conflict zones (for instance on peacekeeping missions) needs to be set up at once. The National Police Force should also collect the DNA of all its officers.
Such databanks are also useful to law enforcement and in a wide variety of non-military litigations.
Quote of the day: “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought. ” — Karol Wojtyla, future Pope John Paul II was run over and injured by a Nazi truck in Krakow on February 29, 1944
